Friday, January 4, 2019

In elementary school, my first story was about a skeleton chasing some guy and my second, about these mites that ate people. Then in high school, I wrote a novel on spiral notebooks. It was a cross between The Terminator and Aliens, two of my favorite movies at the time. Then in college, I wrote plays where people sounded inexplicably British. Needless to say, I had some learning to do as a writer.

What was your favorite book growing up? Now?

Ender’s Game was one of my top favorites as a kid. A kid my age fighting space aliens? What’s better than that? Now, it depends on when you ask me the question. The Bobiverse books are excellent and probably the best I’ve read recently. I also enjoyed Girl with All the Gifts for telling a zombie story in a way I hadn’t seen before. Nothing to Envy is a fantastic non-fiction book about what is really happening in North Korea.

If you could live anywhere in the world where money was not a factor, where would it be?

A cabin in the woods in the mountains near a major airport (for traveling). Anywhere from San Francisco up through Vancouver, BC. I’d also go to Colorado.

How did you come up with the story?

The germ of this idea comes from two technologies present in our life, 3D printing and subscription-based services. It wasn’t a far stretch to combine the two into a world where everything costs one low monthly fee. Why pay for furniture when a 3D printer built into the walls of an apartment can provide a new living room set on a whim? Who needs clothes when you can print your outfit? Why not pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to your favorite designers? Another fee for your favorite restaurant to have the food appear instantly? Why go to a gym when for a fee the gym can be printed in your own home on demand? What happens when you can’t afford to pay these subscription fees?

What are your current writing plans?

Two books a year at least. I’m attempting to alternate between writing sequels and doing new stories, but I just get so excited by the allure of a new story that I sometimes backburner sequels. However, I listen to my fans and will prioritize the sequels they want to see.

One word answers:

Horses, sharks, or eagle?

Eagle

Robots, animals, or people?

Robots

Simon and Garfunkel, Metallica, or Queen?

Metallica

Novels, novellas, or short stories?

Novels

Morning, afternoon, or night?

Morning

A guy learns sarcasm when he discovers he cannot die. Want to try something different? ORION for .99c

Friday, December 21, 2018

Drone Games is a STAND BY ME meets ENDER'S GAME. Those who love 80's paraphernalia and music, a good coming of age or classic 80's books, Atari, Pac-Man, or video games in general, will love this novel set in a future Manhattan, New York, where four middle school aged kids find out the video game they are playing is more than just a game!

WIN the PAPERBACK!

Simply comment on this blog thread and tell me what you think about the cover. Be honest! Winner will be picked at random.

INTERVIEW with author M. Black (that is me!)

When did you start writing stories? I have always written stories, since I was a young child. Firstly, they were in my head and then I wrote them into short stories which were read by the English teachers in class. Later, I wrote series of shorts and then graduated into novels in my thirties. Been writing novels ever since!

What was your favorite book growing up? Now? Charolette's Web growing up and now I would have to say Divergent.

If you could live anywhere in the world where money was not a factor, where would it be? Gosh, where would I live...I would have to say where I am because I chose this location to be near family. But if family was not an option, I'd probably pick Costa Rica. Lovely beaches, food and economical.

How did you come up with the story? I was thinking about all the 80's video games I used to play and how I loved stories from the 80's like Goonies and Stand by Me and wanted to do a kind of remembrance of that time period while also telling a new story.

What are your current writing plans? I am writing a novel called THE INSTRUMENT, a kind of Siri meets the apocalypse, and it should be finished by the release date of Drone Games in spring of 2019.

One word answers:

Horses, sharks, or eagle? Horses.

Robots, animals, or people? All of them.

Simon and Garfunkel, Metallica, or Queen? Simon and Garfunkel.

Novels, novellas, or short stories? Novels.

Morning, afternoon, or night? Morning and Night.

Thank you and good night!

*Book reviews will resume in January 2019. I am starting a new program called 1st Chapter Book Reviews which are reviews based on the first chapter of a book only. I will also post full book reviews periodically.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

When did you start writing stories?I stated writing stories when I was very young. In fact I still have my first book, in which I wrote in my third grade class. We found it up and everything. Of course, it’s not very good. I’ve been writing off and on ever since then. Then I finally got serious and began publishing in 2016.

What was your favorite book growing up? Now?I don’t know if I had a specific favorite book growing up or not. I read all the time. I remember my mom taking me to the library almost every week and coming home with an armful of books. I read detective books, fantasy, and mystery. The first fantasy I really remember reading was The Chronicles of Narnia. Now I still love fantasy. I do read other genre’s occasionally, but always seem to go back to fantasy. Authors like Terry Brooks, Raymond Feist, and Robert Jordan, as well as newer authors like Jeff Wheeler and D.K. Holmberg.

If you could live anywhere in the world where money was not a factor, where would it be? I’m not sure where I would want to live. Right now I live in the pacific NW and am only a short drive from a multitude of waterfalls, trails, and old growth forests so I really like that. If I could choose somewhere else, maybe in a castle somewhere in Europe.

How did you come up with the story?My latest series, The Dragon Artifacts – book one being The Golden Dragon has characters that I used in a previous series (The Alaris Chronicles). Even though it is previous characters and is fun to read about their former adventures, the series stands on its own. I’ve always loved dragons and magic power. The story deals with the question of how much power is too much? IS there a limit to what one person should hold. And is it possible to be all powerful and still not have it go to your head.

What are your current writing plans?Currently I am finalizing editing on this newest series, and am thinking about my next book. Not sure of the story line yet, but it will definitely have lots of magic!

One word answers:

Horses, sharks, or eagle?EagleRobots, animals, or people?PeopleSimon and Garfunkel, Metallica, or Queen?QueenNovels, novellas, or short stories? Novels

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

What if in the future, a dictator name Truss took over North and South America? What if he grafted prisoners to perfect his own Graphed soldiers? What if some of this prisoners escaped?

In this 6 book series of Animal Graph we explore the Amazon, Savannah, Orinoco River, Highlands, Plateaus. All the beauty of the Amazon forests, as well as some of its splendid flora and wildlife like Toucans, Howler Monkeys and Caiman. We also meet radiated creatures poisoned by the nuclear wars.

JIN and ADAN have to run for their lives in the picturesque Amazon, because the are being hunted to train soldiers. But their grafts will aide them and as they learn to use their animal graph, they will turn the tide of this upcoming war.

If you enjoy stories like Dr. Moreau or Hunger Games, or even stories of survival with twists you don't see coming...this is for you!

Immerse yourself in the gorgeous and dangerous Amazon, find new creatures, learn about new exotic countries, travel the highlands, savannas, and plateaus in this breath-taking, page-turning book, ANIMAL GRAPH.

"AN ACTIVE AND EXCITING STORY THAT WOULD BE ENJOYED BY YOUNG ADULTS AND MATURE READERS. M. BLACK PACKS IN A LOT OF INTERESTING CONCEPTS. FANS OF DYSTOPIAN FICTION LIKE THE HUNGER GAMES WILL ENJOY THIS VERY CREATIVE STORY." -Netgalley

"WOW! WHAT A CONCEPT! I CAN SAY THAT THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK OF THIS KIND THAT I HAVE READ." -Amazon Reader

"THIS WAS AN AWESOME STORY. IN THE APOCALYPTIC FUTURE THEY ARE EXPERIMENTING ON PRISONERS." -Amazon Reader

"M.BLACK’S ANIMAL GRAPH IS MORE THAN A DYSTOPIAN TALE FROM THE CREATIVE GENIUS OF THIS AUTHOR’S MIND. IT RAISES THE QUESTION OF SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST, OF LIVING IN HARMONY AND QUESTIONING WHAT IF THE ODDS ARE ARTIFICIALLY STACKED AGAINST THESE NEW CREATIONS." -Netgalley

"THE CHARACTERS HAVE EXTRAORDINARY ABILITIES FROM THEIR ANIMAL GRAPHS, BUT THESE ALSO COME WITH WEAKNESSES. IT'S A REALLY GOOD BALANCE." -Netgalley

"IT IS GOOD, VERY STRANGE ON ONE HAND YET THRILLING AND EDGE OF YOUR SEAT! I LOVE THE BEGINNING WHERE THE READER IS IN THE ACTION FROM THE START! I ALSO LOVE THE WHOLE IDEA OF THE GRAPHS." -Reader Review

"THIS BOOK HAD ME HOOKED FROM THE BEGINNING." Netgalley

"YOU ARE ONE OF THE FEW AUTHORS WHOSE BOOKS LEAVE ME WANTING TO READ MORE OF YOUR BOOKS." -Amazon Reader

"GOOD STORY! I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END!" Amazon Reader

"I HAD ANXIETY ATTACKS WITH JIN. IT REALLY BOTHERED ME THAT I HAD TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN TO DO NORMAL THINGS LIKE EAT. LOL." -Amazon ReaderWIN a COPY OF THE PAPERBACK BY LEAVING A COMMENT and your EMAIL!

After several world catastrophes, robots called 'Tins' have come to power.

Lexi019 knows them well. She's lived inside of a Compound ruled by Tins for the past twelve years, and maintains a strict schedule. After attending Electric Gardens classes, she learns that she will be transferred, as all eighteen-year-olds are, to serve the gardens for the rest of her life.

Instead, Lexi defies the Tins and looks for a way out. With her best guy Kyle53 at her side, and a couple of unlikely friends, Lexi eventually finds her way out of the Compound.

But in the end, can she escape... or like all things in this artificial, apocalyptic world, will she be stuck under the Tins' power forever?

Sunday, June 10, 2018

We are excited to share with you the release of third book in the ELECTRIC WORLD series, ELECTRIC WARS. This is a four book series and you can click below all three books out now to sample or buy them!

We have special guest Sophie Davis of the Talented Saga today!

I will be sharing my review of the book FREAKY DAYS by AMANDA M. LEE.

The excerpt this week is from Electric Wars, book three in the Electric World series.

Lastly, I will share some information for Rosacea suffers.

Enjoy!

Electric Gardens is the first book in the Electric World series that takes place in a future controlled by Tins. Our main heroine Lexi019 is determined to escape because of the harsh treatment of the Compound she has lived in for twelve years, and because she wants to find her dad, if he is even still alive.

Electric Grids is the second book in the Electric World series. Follow Lexi019 has she looses her number and becomes just Lexi! She escapes to the outside and now has to fight off the natural elements, Tins on her tail, and trust friends in unlikely places to survive.

Enjoy the adventure of a lifetime that will make you think, feel, and flip the pages to find out what happens next!

NEW RELEASE!

Electric Ends is the third book in the Electric World series. Lexi escaped, found her dad and now has been thrown back into the Compound by Tin 99099. This time, everything is on the line and she could lose those she loves most.

Find out if Lexi can escape the clutches of the demented lead Tin and free her dad and friends in this amazing sequel!

With over Half a Million worldwide downloads and Millions of pages read in Kindle Unlimited, readers are raving about the Talented Saga: "X-Men meets Divergent in a new way." "Intoxicatingly good."

Block out thoughts. Talia Lyons has one goal at the McDonough School for the Talented: learn to use her Talent as a Mental Manipulator to kill the man who murdered her parents.

Block out pain. She'll deal with anything. The brutal physical demands. The emotional toll. Whatever it takes to reach her objective.

Block out friendship. With only one year left in the program, though, seventeen-year-old Talia is suddenly finding it harder than ever to ignore the rest of her life.

Block out love.Even worse, she can't seem to turn off her psychic connection to her first love...or quit thinking about her fascinating new teammate.

Feel only vengeance.Ian Crane. The man who destroyed Talia's life. The one she's determined to eradicate.

Now focus.It's time to kill.

The Talented Saga is an award-winning Dystopian Romance series about the life of a girl with extraordinary psychic powers, and what happens when a heart is torn between love and rage...

When did you start writing stories?

We both started writing stories in elementary school. Nine years ago we started co-authoring novels under Sophie Davis, starting with TALENTED.

What was your favorite book growing up? Now?

THE GIVER by Lois Lowery and PARABLE OF THE SOWER by Octavia Butler were our faves growing up. Now, we both love way too many books to declare just one favorite! HARRY POTTER is a classic, and UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld is another favorite. I recently read NUMBERS GAME by Rebecca Rode and really loved it.

If you could live anywhere in the world where money was not a factor, where would it be?

We would travel to the world's beaches, hopping to a cool new place every six months or so (bad #wanderlust over here!). Australia, New Zealand, Bali, and Greece would all be on that list.

How did you come up with the story?

For the first book, we didn't want to study for the bar exam and realized it would be much easier if we could just read other people's brains. We both love dystopian books, so of course that's where the world came in.

What are your current writing plans?

We're currently finishing up FATED, the eighth and final book in the TALENTED SAGA. It's so hard saying goodbye to these characters, and it's a lot of pressure to give them the ending their journey deserves. We've also been working on the fourth book in our TIMEWAVES series in the background after spending a month in New Orleans to do research . Next up, we're writing a series called SHADOW FATE. The first two books have been drafted, but we're waiting to finish the third so we can do a rapid release of the whole trilogy. Lots of releases over the next year, it's very exciting!

By the time we’re three-quarters of the way to the lowered fence, a single feline has caught up and Zero jerks around for an attack. Most of us don’t stop running, only Zero and Strings.

I keep my eyes on the hole in the fence, our only way out of this hell—with one hand over my heart, the sweaty notes that hold so many memories between Kyle and me like an umbilical cord from mother to babe.

Running is much easier without having to drag Klynn. I glance back a couple of times to see Zero fight alongside Strings, which only consolidates my trust in it. The second time I turn around, the first feline is dead on the ground and another is pouncing mid-air aimed at Strings. When Zero extends its arm, a perforated blade protrudes from its wrist and slices the feline’s neck before it lands headless on the ground in front of Strings. Then the two friendly Tins follow behind us. I guess Zero has some tricks up its sleeve.

Information for Rosacea suffers:

I started suffering from Rosacea myself in my forties. Had otherwise beautiful skin my whole life. Took about a year to realize it was not an allergic reaction to anything, acne or some other problem. Yes, this was real, permanent and something I was going to have live with and deal with the rest of my life.

I have found some things that have worked for me that I want to share for those of you who do suffer or who might suffer later in life, because the onset is typically in your forties for many women even if you have amazing skin in your youth.

WHAT WORKS:

Anti-inflammatory foods and topical skin treatments.

Foods: Avocados, coconuts, Chamomile tea, Algae oil pills or krill oil pills or fish oil pills (omega 3), olive oil. Anything with omega 3 is good for you. You may also try Selenium pills and Primrose pills to help skin/hair. It seems to work for some also.

I like to take the algae oil, Selenium and Primrose daily. The foods I like to take weekly.

Topical Treatments: Warning! Only use all natural products!

African Black soap morning and night (it is anti-inflammatory) on face, Sulfur Ointment is very good, Turmeric paste (mix Tumeric power with water and spread on face for ten minutes than wash), I like to then use a Hydrochloric acid serum on my face and let it dry and then use a moisturizing cream like all natural aloe vera or honey skin (Manuka hone is good inside and out).

I do all of this each morning and night.

Some other recommends are Dermalex and Rosex (this can only be bought in UK).

TO AVOID: Many suffers find that dairy, especially milk will cause an outbreak. Something in the Casein protein. Also, exposure to sun, saunas, alcohol and spicy food like biting into a hot pepper will cause an outbreak, and exercise like dancing in a club, sweating a lot. You also should be careful about washing your face with hot water.

I learned the hard way about all of the above.

I also would avoid all factory farmed meats. They are VERY high in omega 6 which is an inflammatory ingredient. You want omega 3, not 6. We get plenty of 6 in everything we eat. What we don't get enough of is omega 3.

Pasture raised animals are usually fine in the balance of 6 to 3. So, if you have to eat meat, eat only pasture raised.

Salmon and other fish are high in omega 3. So, that meat is recommended. But you should flush your system out with a Chlorophyll pill weekly just make sure you flush out metal toxins. You can easily buy them on Amazon. I order everything from there to keep my face and health regime routine.

Lastly, take care of your gut. Take a probiotic and/or digestive enzyme daily. This will help your digestion and kill bad bacteria that can cause inflammation on your face. Eat yogurt. usually it doesn't react the same way as other dairy does. It has many good bacteria.

People with sensitive skin develop Rosacea. The skin is very reactive to its environment and to the food you put in your body. So, observe how your skin reacts.

I hope this helps you and if you do have a problem like Rosacea, Eczema or some other skin problem, even acne, all of the above will help you too!

SECRET WEAPONS: Turmeric will help with skin problems and with ulcers and accesses. It is an anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial natural herb. Sprinkle on food and make paste to spread on skin. It will do wonders if used regularly!

EG TRAILER

ELECTRIC GARDENS out now! (Relaunch 11/20)

Divergent meets Terminator. Enter a Robot Post-Apocalyptic that fans of Maze Runner and Logan's Run will love.

QUANTUM STATE (Relaunch 11/20)

YA Scifi Romance Thriller. Would you let a powerful A.I. control all your decisions? Who to marry? What to do? Where to live? Masha of Cherni has other ideas.

EXOTIQA TRAILER

CYBERPUNK DYSTOPIA- Exotiqa Box Set (3 Book Set): Enter a World between Robot and Man

CYBERPUNK DYSTOPIA- iRobot meets Invasion of Body Snatchers

Now a script for Motion Pictures (Hit #49 in YA Dystopia and #75 in Science Fiction Cyberpunk).

Animal Graph trailer

SFF Post-Apocalyptic-Graph World (3 book set)

Survival, Freedom, Friendship. Hunger Games meets X-Men. Would you be able to survive the Amazon? Jin is grafted with dart blue frog, Harpy eagle and Bengal tiger. Hunted by soldiers, she'll have to survive the night.

Animal Graph: Books 1-3 out now!

Hunger Games meets X-Men! Now a script for motion pictures.

Simulation Trailer

SIMULATION: Enter a World of Simulations in this post-apocalyptic dysoptia.